Bet you guys didn't expect to see him so soon after my long absences! This chapter was super fun to write, I hope you guys enjoy it! I noticed I lost a lot of my old readers/reviewers, which makes me very sad... but hello to the new readers!

It's 2009, how crazy! Hope everyone had a great new year, and enjoy the coming Lunar New Year!

I'm too poor to own Symphonia, eh.

The Origin of Hope

Chapter 36: Unexpected Hope

Regal leaned against the warm walls of the Triet Renegade base, watching the stars of Sylvarant slowly materialize in the darkening sky. He had never seen a desert before. There was a strange beauty in the desolation. Sylvarant, the world of fairy tales. The world mothers would tell their children to keep them from straying too far from home. You might disappear like those other people did, and find yourself in a terrible, dying land with no food to eat and no water to drink. It was a little exaggerated, Regal thought, but as much as he's seen, it could be true. But, Sylvarant existed. He was standing in it now. Does this mean everything he has been briefed about—the real story of the world—also stood true? This little group of renegades had no reason to lie. They had already proven themselves to possess powers beyond his knowledge, and a compassion toward half-elves that was beyond comprehension.

The door next to him slid open.

"I hope you do not mind some company to watch the stars with," Kratos said as he walked towards him.

"Not at all, you are most welcome."

"I apologize for the hurried explanation before the meeting and the short time for you to digest it. If there is anything you want to ask, please feel free. As much as Yuan wants to leave as quickly as possible, his business matters are still best taken care of now."

"It is not good to leave a desk cluttered before a trip. I understand very well," Regal said, staring absently at a small whirlwind pick up not far from him. Then he turned and looked at Kratos. "I do have a question. I see that many of you have advanced ex-spheres. What prevents you from turning into monsters?"

Kratos looked at him in surprise. How did he know about exbulas...? "The ex-spheres are controlled by a keycrest. A keycrest is made from inhibi—"

"Yes, but there are some ex-spheres that still cannot be controlled."

"Yes... that is true. I'm surprised you know so much about them, since not many people in Tethe'alla know about them."

"I do know about them. I also know that the ex-spheres you, your wife, and Yuan wear look as blood red as the one Alicia wore before... before she..."

Regal stared at his hands, straining against the large, metal shackles. Alicia...

Kratos suddenly understood. "You had to kill the one you loved."

"She begged me to! Th-that thing! That leech! That turned her into a monster, a mutated beast so unlike the beautiful, sweet girl she is. She could not control herself—and wanted me to kill her before she might hurt me! Could there be any crime more heinous? I killed the one I loved!"

Kratos swallowed a lump in his throat. It was a strange feeling, not one he was used to. "I...had thought I had done the same thing many years ago. Anna very nearly died. To this day I am reminded by her wheelchair."

Regal opened his eyes which he had squeezed shut. "Truly, I could not imagine that someone else had been subject to a similar tragedy. I am very sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry about. Had Yuan not had been there to catch her fall, I may not even be standing here of my own accord."

"Alicia... Alicia loved life. That is the only reason I still stand here before you."

There was a moment of silence. Kratos wasn't too eager to fill the void, but a question had been brewing in the back of his mind. "I find it strange that Tethe'alla conducted experiments on Cruxis Crystals. Other than the Crystals bestowed upon Chosens at the Day of Prophecy, no other Crystals should exist. The one on Anna was a secret experiment of one of the Desian Ranch leaders."

"If something valuable exists, man will find a way to re-produce it. Alicia was taken from me by a man named Vharley. Where he took her, I never discovered. I traced him to Meltokio, but I had sightings in Sybak as well. I never knew anything about Cruxis Crystals. My business had always been in the trading of ex-spheres and other precious metals dug from the earth."

"So you are Duke Regal Bryant, President of the Lezareno Company."

"I was. Now I am no more."

"I see, I'm sorry. When you said Sybak, you reminded me of something. What do you know of Vharley? I have heard of that name from somewhere else."

"Vharley is a notorious ex-sphere broker who goes to great lengths to make a profit. He is infamous for his ruthless trade in anything that could get him money. Much of his ex-spheres were stolen, and anything else he had to sell came from unknown sources. He...is a monster. He was the one who brought Alicia back, told me she was unfit, and tortured her in front of me. I made a deal to go to prison if Vharley was captured."

Kratos crossed his arms. "I assume Vharley did not go to the same prison you inhabited."

"No, I don't believe so."

"What if Vharley never went to prison?"

Regal gave him a hard, questioning look.

"Trust is a privilege seldom earned. If you did not see him go to prison, I have every reason to believe he never saw the walls of a prison cell. We met some half-elf scientists in Sybak who were being oppressed and forced to conduct experiments on Cruxis Crystals. They told us that a man named Vharley had been bringing a girl to them every month. Vharley is not a common name, so I can only assume the two are the same person. We rescued the scientists about a week ago and they currently reside at this facility."

"I need to see them!"

"I want you to realize first, that these scientists may have worked on Alicia. And if they have, they did so under orders and not of their own wishes."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Lloyd, my friend, it seems the heavens have frowned upon you. My party may leave before you and your party of supernaturals. Let us come to my room and have a drink."

Lloyd stopped drumming his fingers on a break room table and turned around at the unmistakable drawl that was Zelos' voice. "No, thanks."

"Party pooper, you. Hey, I know, why don't we go grab Sheena and take care of Volt tonight while Yuan's still pushing papers?"

"Are you serious, didn't you say you needed something called 'sleep'?"

"Enthusiasm overcomes everything!"

"There's no way Sheena would go."

"Well, if we just take off, she'll have to follow..."

"Hmm, I wonder what happened the last time that happened..."

"You know what happened! Sheena made her very first pact with the water spirit Undine!"

"And I nearly died, and nearly died again at my dad's hands when we got home. Yuan almost killed you, too, if you remember."

"Surface wounds. They healed soon enough. I'm just saying, you have to wait for old men to get ready. Did Yuan say how long he was gonna take?"

Lloyd started drumming his fingers impatiently again. "No. I could just take off myself to go search for Colette. You can go take care of Volt."

Zelos sighed. "That defeats the purpose, dude. I want this to be a TEAM EFFORT!"

"Then come with me instead!"

"Gahhhh, defeating a summon spirit is way more interesting than canvassing people!"

"Fine."

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant! Colette is one hell of a hunny, of course I want to save her! But it'd be a lot faster and easier if we could just zip around on Rheairds! Oh and by the way, I can't fly. Just a note."

Lloyd widened his eyes. "Oh, right... sorry. I'm just really worried—"

"Of course you're worried! Let's go!"

Lloyd wasn't sure how he found himself getting dragged by Zelos down the hall toward their rooms, but after a few seconds of watching Zelos throwing toiletries into a bag, he shook his head. "Wait, you're serious??"

Zelos stopped in mid-throw of some underwear and stared at Lloyd incredulously.

"Dude, I alrea—"

"What are you guys doing?"

Zelos looked up and saw Sheena at the door. "We're having a man talk, Sheena."

"Over your underwear, Zelos? Lloyd doesn't look like he's enjoying it too much. Me and Genis were looking for you, Lloyd. I want to play cards, and Genis wants to learn since he's never played before."

"Weren't you guys gonna get some sleep??"

"Lloyd, the sun set like maybe thirty minutes ago," Zelos said. "Normal human beings don't usually go to sleep so early... especially when we have amazing Tethe'allan artificial light technology! Cards! I'm in! The squirt's gonna lose hella money tonight!"

"You still owe me the bottle of Meltokio 300, Zelos," Sheena said dryly. "Not to mention, I'm not sure Genis has any money to bet with."

"Look, I forgot to get the bottle last time I was home! Things were a bit unstable when I got back, if you don't remember... Wait, you got ninja hands, it's unfair. We should ban you from card games."

"Ha ha, so funny. I'm the one who owns the deck of cards—"

"...and that's why they're loaded—"

"Are not, you check it every time and it's the same," Sheena snapped, then softened her expression when she saw Lloyd's miserable look. "Oh cheer up, Lloyd. I'm sure Yuan will finish his stuff quickly and you'll be on your way soon enough."

"Speaking of the squirt!" Zelos suddenly said, as Genis poked his head out behind Sheena.

"Shut up, Zelos... Hey, Lloyd! I just saw your dad! He's with uh, with... the new guy—"

"Regal?" Sheena prompted, arching an eyebrow.

"Right! They were rushing off to the transporter to Tethe'alla."

"What business does old man Kratos have in Tethe'alla?" Zelos said, tossing his underwear in the bag.

"To get some Flanoir hot chocolate?" Lloyd said, his face brightening up.

"Right, Lloyd," Sheena said, rolling her eyes. "Your dad and Regal're probably the last people who would go on an emergency hot chocolate run."

Zelos crossed his arms and smiled widely. "Let's not be so negative now, Sheena. I say we go follow them and see what bad news they're up to... and if it turns out to just be Kratos showing Regal the better toilets on the Tethe'alla side of base, then we can just go grab some hot chocolate ourselves!"

"It's none of our business!" Sheena snapped. "Honestly, Zelos, it'd be nice if you'd act your age once in a while!"

"We've got plenty of time to be old, Sheena, c'mon," Zelos said, patting Sheena on the back and pushing her out the door.

Lloyd scratched his head and walked over to Genis, who still stood at the doorway after Zelos had rushed pass him with Sheena.

"Hey, Lloyd, I was wondering... Why would Yuan suddenly say he has stuff to do when he was the one who told you guys that he wanted to leave as soon as possible?"

"Maybe Uncle Botta finally tied him down to his desk to make him finish all the paperwork piling up since Uncle Yuan might be gone for a long time on this trip—at least that's what Uncle Botta told me."

Genis had his hand on his chin as he slowly walked with Lloyd in the corridor. "Well, I went to go see what Raine was up to earlier."

"And?"

"And I saw that Yuan and her were both in the library reading and talking!"

"What! Well, maybe Uncle Yuan has to look up some stuff for his paperwork..."

"I guess..."

"Well, let's go find Zelos and Sheena. I wanna see what my dad's up to. Whatever it is, it's probably secret and cool."

"Man, your dad's really hit it off with the Regal guy. I don't think he's talked to anyone except your dad."

"They both talk and act the same. He seems kinda angry."

"Maybe he's really shy."

"Maybe... you saw those muscles though right? I don't think I'd be shy with those, man."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yuan's experimental technology lab occupied a large quadrant of the Tethe'alla base and included the trans-dimensional warp that connected both bases. While Yuan had tried to keep both bases relatively equal in living and defense necessities, the Tethe'alla base was mainly used as his training and research center. Since the Sylvarant base began construction first, Yuan had it built as his main base of operation, complete with his living quarters. Botta, his second-in-command, resided in the Tethe'alla side. He was also the one responsible for carrying out Yuan's building and technological designs. After many years of overseeing the work, he and a team of half-elves with a knack for the sciences gained a good understanding of the advanced technology and continued studying all books Yuan had on engineering and mana.

When Kate, Seph, and Kyle arrived after Yuan's rescue mission in Sybak, they nearly fainted out of shock at the technology before them. Yuan had helped them transport as much material they had on their Cruxis Crystal research as they could without too much suspicion. Thankfully, of all the personal belongings they had, they were happy enough with only the clothes on their back. They were first introduced to Botta and the team of scientists in Tethe'alla, and given comfortable rooms.

Thus, it was in the midst of more introductory briefings between Botta and the three newcomers that Kratos and Regal walked in.

By the time the door slid away, all heads were already turned in Kratos' direction. Regal nearly jumped, but quickly remembered that Kratos had told him that they could sense mana.

"Kratos, sir! Regal! Good to see you!" Botta said, grinning broadly as he walked over.

"Sorry for interrupting your meeting, Botta," Kratos said, and turned his head toward the three scientists from Sybak. "I'm very glad to see you all safely arrived here."

"Did you find what you were looking for in Meltokio?" asked Kate suddenly.

"Yes... yes, I did. Thank you for asking," replied Kratos, surprised. "I would like to introduce my friend, Regal Bryant. He has some questions he would like to ask, if you have some time."

"Not a problem, we were not in any hurry," Botta said and introduced the three scientists to Regal.

Regal found it exceedingly strange to be in a room full of so many half-elves. It was not quite as uncomfortable as he originally thought, though the three scientists seemed more guarded. "Hi, I understand that all of you were involved in Cruxis Crystal research. I knew someone who was a Cruxis Crystal research subject and was taken from me by a man named Vharley. Vharley is responsible for her tragic death, and I was told that he was sent to prison years ago. Kratos tells me that you had all been in regular contact with him recently—which means he is not in jail. Could you help me confirm or deny this?"

There was a moment of silence afterwards. Regal instinctively tried to move his hands to his pockets, then remembered he couldn't.

Kate finally spoke up. "Yes, we have been contact with Vharley. He brought us the current subject every month for the past sixteen years. He has never missed an appointment, so I can only assume he has never been sent to jail. You mention that your friend met a tragic death. Since our assignment to this particular research, we had had only one death, which is the current subject's younger sister, Alicia Combatir. May I ask if this is she?"

The blood drained out of Regal's face at the sound of Alicia's name. "Yes, that is correct." A second passed before Regal realized that Kate had said Alicia's sister is the current subject. "I was not aware that Alicia's older sister is still a part of the research. May I ask if you know where she is?"

"I'm sorry, we know nothing about our subjects except for their research data. I can only tell you that we last saw her almost a month ago. She is supposed to be due back to see us in..."

"Kate, she's supposed to see us tomorrow!" Seph said suddenly. "I wonder if...if..."

"If anyone's noticed that you have all escaped?" Botta finished helpfully. "Yes, according to our reports, the authorities were alerted a couple days after you escaped. They still have no leads as of now, but we will keep watch for a long while yet."

"Do you think Vharley will still bring her? I wonder if he knows yet..." Kyle said.

"When does he bring her?" Kratos asked.

"We never know, they come when they come."

"Kratos," Regal said urgently. "I cannot stand and take no action on Alicia's behalf. I am sorry that I may not be able to join your men on the journey to find Volt, but this must take precedence."

"You do not need to make any apologies, Regal."

"Excuse me," Kyle said hesitantly, "I am very happy that you want to save Presea, but I think it may be helpful for you to know that she now lacks all sense of emotion. She may not respond to you at all and may attack you out of a survival instinct."

"What?"

"The Cruxis Crystal responded very well with Presea and when we first put it on her, nothing seemed amiss. As the months went by, we realized that she seemed more and more robotic with every visit. By the end of the first year, she could not be made to show any excitement regardless of what we did. She became oblivious to her surroundings and would only listen to a few commands at a time. One other thing, she had also stopped aging. Her body is that of a twelve-year-old, even though sixteen years has passed since we first put the crystal on her."

Kratos looked over at Regal, whose stare had become fixed in disbelief.

"I understand. But it is my duty to find and protect her. Thank you for your help and your advice."

Seph stood up and offered Regal his hand. "We are very sorry about Alicia, sir. I hope you will be able to save her sister."

Kratos crossed his arms and sighed. "Zelos, Sheena, I know you're behind the door, come here."

At which Kratos suddenly heard someone try to run and Sheena yelling out a curse. Not soon after, Sheena was dragging Zelos through the door. "I'm sorry, Kratos..."

"How did—?" Regal started but was quickly cut off by Zelos. "Kratos can sense mana, I FORGOT."

Kate looked at Kratos then back at her colleagues.

"Hello hun, my name's Zelos, nice to meet you."

Kate jumped and turned around. "H-hello, I-I'm Kate."

Zelos arched an eyebrow. The guy named Seph looked extremely angry. These guys don't seem to know who he is...

"You are the Chosen! Seph, that's right, his mana signature is almost as skewed as his!" Kyle suddenly cried, pointing at Kratos.

There was a muffled laugh that no one heard. But Kratos. "This is absurd. Lloyd, show yourself at once."

There was another sound of a minor scuffle, and through the door came Lloyd, who dragged Genis in by the back of his shirt.

"Hi! I remember you guys!" cried Seph.

"Hey, how goes it," muttered Lloyd in return.

Kratos looked the same as ever, except for his clenched jaw. Right as he was going to speak, Zelos cut in. "Hey, I just remembered! You guys said this girl looks young and is totally emotionless, right?"

Everyone stared at him blankly. "Er, yes, Presea lacks normal emotional reaction."

"I think I met her in Meltokio! Pink hair, deadly axe, strong as hell? That girl?"

"Yes, she does have pink hair, and has exhibited extraordinary strength."

"I nearly got killed by her just 'cause I offered to help her carry a log!" Zelos paused for a second. "Oh! Kratos! I forgot to tell you, she was dragging sacred wood to the church! Yeah, if you want some sacred wood, maybe we need to go find her!"

Kratos looked at Zelos as if he had started speaking Ogreish. "Really. Now that is interesting. Regal, if you don't mind, I should like to join you. The rest of you need to return to your rooms—immediately."

"...but!"

"Now. And I will be there to check shortly."

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